


A Performance to Remember

by the9thangel



Category: Puyo Puyo (Video Games)
Genre: (probably LOL my b), ??? how do i tag i forgot LMAO, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Out of Character, Pining, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:33:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27402811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the9thangel/pseuds/the9thangel
Summary: Ringo has a very musical and special surprise for Maguro. While Maguro helps her get ready, he tries (and fails) deals with the weird thoughts in his head.
Relationships: Ringo Ando & Maguro Sasaki, Ringo Ando/Maguro Sasaki
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	A Performance to Remember

**Author's Note:**

> its time for my annual obscure fic posting with a new hyperfixation!! wow!!  
> i love these kids. i love maguro and ringo so much and this is a huge comfort ship atm  
> this may be veryyy self indulgent and ooc because i just really wanted to write pining maguro and cute cliché stuff because i love them but i thought it couldn't hurt to share?? there's not a lot of magurin fics out there anyway........  
> so um here!! im very embarrassed goodbye

Maguro grinned to himself at the chime of a loud bell, the last one of the painfully normal school day. Though, most days felt incredibly normal after recent puyo-related events, and when him, Risukuma, and Ringo weren't practicing their magic, school days felt as boring as ever.

He felt the chairs around him push out from their desks, the violent scraping on tile clashing with ever growing chit chatter from the students around him. He closed his notebook on the desk in front of him, pushing out his own chair. He stretched a little as he stood, letting out a sigh. He turned to bring his back to his chair, starting to stuff his notebook in.

"Maguro!" A girl shouted, her hands slamming onto his desk in front of him.

As an embarrassing noise of surprise left him, Maguro looked up at the bright red curls swarming his view, sparkling green eyes to boot.

"R-Ringo! Don't startle me like that, ★" Maguro nervously chuckled, going back to putting his notebook in his bag.

Ringo's wide smile didn't falter; she simply took her hands from off Maguro's desk and leaned away from Maguro's desk, waiting for him to avert his focus back to her. "Maguro! Let's walk to my place today!" She said, a bubbling excitement in her voice.

Maguro zipped up his bag, shrugging it onto his shoulder. Nearly everyone had left the class already, teacher included. "Oh? What's the occasion? ★"

"It's a surprise~!" Ringo sang. Maguro couldn't help but laugh at her giddiness. Occasionally, he had averted his gaze towards her in class (as he usually, unintentionally and embarrassingly did); her leg was nearly always bouncing today, finger twirling around one of her curls endlessly with pent up energy.

"Well then, lead the way, Miss Andou, ★" Maguro playfully bowed. Ringo eagerly skipped from where she was standing and went out towards the door, Maguro quickly attempting to catch up.

By the time they were out the front door, Maguro had caught up, watching Ringo as she walked with a spring in her step. Maguro smirked. "Well, aren't you excited today? ★"

Ringo turned, her bounce only slowing a little. "It's an awesome surprise! I hope you'll like it as much as I do," she said, looking up towards the sky as the school shrunk behind her.

"Without a doubt! ★" Maguro said without hesitation, putting his heads behind his head as the two students continued to walk forward. "Got any hints for me? ★"

Ringo put a finger on her chin, humming in thought before her eyes softened. "It's something that means a lot to me is all. You'll see."

Maguro couldn't help but stare at her soft, longing gaze.

Eventually, the two reached the Suzuran shopping district, passing by Maguro's house to get to Ringo's. Her parents wouldn't be home yet, being busy running the produce store nearby.

Ringo quickly pulled her house keys out of her bag and unlocked the front door, hopping inside and kicking off her shoes. Maguro did the same, shaking his bag off of him and leaving it by the door.

Ringo quick stepped in front of him, a grin on her face. "Okay, in here!" She exclaimed, grabbing Maguro's wrist and yanking him away from the front door.

Maguro let out a strangled noise as he was hurriedly tugged along, through the kitchen and into the hallway. The two stopped in front of Ringo's room door.

The girl exhaled, her breath excitedly jittery. Her hand had slinked down to hold Maguro's hand, making the boy turn a small shade of red when he noticed. He hoped his bangs were enough to make it invisible.

Continuing to hold his hand, Ringo turned to him. "Okay, here it is-!" She said, twisting the door knob in front of her with her other hand and dashing into the room, Maguro's hand long forgotten.

Maguro cruised his way inside, his eyes darting around the room. Before he could analyze anything, Ringo picked up something frilly and flow-y, holding it close to her chest and twirling in place.

"Look!" She exclaimed, holding out the dress in front of her and peering over to look at it herself.

The dress had a vague sense of familiarity; the colors were nostalgic, reminiscent of a dress Maguro had seen on Ringo before, albeit, a long time ago. This was a remastered masterpiece; it kept it's familiar star pendant at the chest, with frilly, light pink fabric lining down the sides of torso against dark pink ribbon. Two dark pink ribbons ran down the white middle. The skirt had multiple layers of pink fabric in slightly different shades, a somewhat short length. It was long sleeved, familiar pink stars printed on the cuffs.

Maguro stared at in awe for a moment, looking between at the dress and Ringo's undeniably ecstatic face. The dress was nothing short of gorgeous, nothing short from an outstanding upgrade from the one he had remembered when he was smaller. The dress had a cute, bouncy energy to it, an energy that Ringo only showed when expressing this passion; though, imagining Ringo in the dress, under stage lights maybe, a microphone in hand, her voice carrying throughout the stadium, the short length dress moving with every step-

"So? Whaddya think? Beautiful~, isn't it?" Ringo sang out, looking at Maguro expectantly.

Maguro quickly shook his head of any more flustering thoughts. He smiled at her, one of genuine happiness for his best friend. "It looks amazing, Ringo! ★ When did this all happen? ★"

Ringo, eager to explain, perked up. "My mom picked it up for me and made some changes to it! It looks like the old one, doesn't it?"

"It sure does... ★" Maguro replied, stepping forward a bit to look at the details that Ringo's mom had sewn on carefully. "So, gonna perform for me? I'd love to see my favorite idol on stage. ★"

Ringo shrugged, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "Maaaaybe," she said. "But there's more stuff I need to do first. Now move it!"

"Wha-?!" Maguro couldn't get any words out before Ringo shoved against his back, towards the door. He stumbled out into the hallway, hearing the door softly close behind him. He turned back to it, a small pout on his face. "Hey! What gives? ★"

"I need to change into it!" A voice distantly replied from inside.

Outside the door, Maguro stuttered, glad that his beetroot red face could only be acknowledged by him. "O-oh, right, ★" He nervously chuckled, attempting to calm himself.

Maguro internally thought to himself, those thoughts running and scrambling inside his head like his mind was on fire. She was putting the dress on now. Right now? He could barely handle just imagining how cute it would look on her- _cute?!_

 _Ugh, Maguro, get a grip already!_ Maguro leaned against the wall next to the door, letting out a soft groan and covering the rest of his face with his hand. _Just play it cool, don't freak out, for the love of puyo_ , he told himself.

After a few more minutes of shuffling from beyond the door, the door opened from next to the purple headed boy, making him (thankfully) jolt out of his thoughts. Though, it didn't do much once he turned to face the door way.

He watched as the dress masterfully swayed to math Ringo's movements and body perfectly as she twirled in place, now adorning frilly white socks, a heavenly smile on her face as she looked down at the dress. She looked back up at Maguro. "Good?" She asked, her usual boisterous and loud voice weakening only slightly in the spotlight.

 _Perfect_. "Way past good! ★ It really suits you, Ringo, ★" Maguro complimented, blinking out of his trance-like state just in time and thanking his mind for being able to get a normal compliment out.

Though, who could blame him? Of course, this side of Ringo was well known to him, but it wasn't something he saw every day. Not even every month, or maybe even every year. The sight, coupled with the idol fantasy in his head, stage lights...

Ringo proudly twirled once more, practically begging Maguro to embarrassingly blush and turn away. Though, he resisted the urge, simply smiling warmly at his friend's excitement.

"You really think so?"

"Know so, of course! ★"

Ringo laughed, then turned to her desk. "Okay, I need your help with _one_ more thing..." She trailed off, walking over to her desk drawer and bending over to take out a small brown purse. She kneeled down onto her room's carpet, the dress just barely covering her knees as she did so.

She motioned Maguro to sit down in front of her, to which he quickly did, watching as she plopped the purse down in front of the two of them.

Maguro raised an eyebrow. "Now, what could this be? ★" He questioned.

Ringo promptly began to quickly take out all of it's contents, multiple items at a time. Though it took Maguro a second to identify each one, the pieces clicked neatly together in his head after a few seconds.

"Makeup? ★"

Ringo grinned up at him. "It'll complete the look! Not too much, just a little bit. It's called stage makeup, I'm pretty sure."

Maguro was, honestly, quite shocked. He wouldn't call Ringo a makeup kind of girl; in fact, she had never brought it up until now. But why was she bringing it up to him like this-

"Can you help me put it on?"

"Huh?!" Maguro was unable to contain his disbelief. "M-me?"

Ringo nodded. "I mean, it would be easier because I won't have to look in a mirror while I do it, right?"

Maguro itched the back of his neck nervously, sensing Ringo's persuasion and logic coming into play. It wasn't that he didn't want to do it, but this was too much pressure! "Well, I _guess_ so, but...don't you have some other friend that knows more about this stuff? ★"

Ringo's smile faltered a little. "I don't really have many girl friends to do this with," Ringo lamented, not bothering to mention the several girls she had very recently met under magical circumstances. "Plus, I've heard you've done makeup before!"

Maguro groaned, his mind going back to the time that he had done his little sister's makeup since she wouldn't stop whining about it. "That was _one time_! I don't even think I did a good job! ★"

"One more than me," Ringo said matter-of-factly, digging through the contents she had dug out onto the floor. She looked up at him after a while, a pleading look in her eyes. "Please?" She asked, her voice raising a bit in pitch.

Maguro tried to look away from the puppy dog eyes; though, whether he looked or not, he knew that he had utterly lost this game, and he had lost the second it had even started. Tightened lips releasing, he sighed. "Okay, okay, I'll do it, but don't blame me if it's bad, ★" he said, a begrudging smile playing at his lips at the silliness of the situation.

The girl pumped her fist, then went back to digging in the pile of all types of creams, gels, and brushes. She took out a small wipe she found, quickly running it across her face before discarding it next to her.

Maguro ended up digging through some of it with her, holding up some items to see better. "So, where do we start? This foundation stuff? ★" He asked, pointing to a bottle within the pile and recalling some prior knowledge.

Ringo hummed, hand on her chin. "Yeah, pretty sure," she said, picking up a pink makeup sponge and a bottle of pale cream. "This is it, I think." She handed the bottle and the sponge to Maguro.

Maguro nervously took both. He at least knew this step, as his little sister had obnoxiously informed him of it. He squirted a small bit of the cream onto the sponge, then looked up at Ringo.

She was already leaned in toward him, eyes closed. The outwardness caught him off guard, causing him to blush as he leaned into her as well, preparing the press the sponge to her cheek.

When the cold cream hit her skin, Ringo jumped a little, a small smile on her face as Maguro awkwardly dabbed the sponge around her face, attempting to evenly spread the foundation across her face.

Maguro could start to feel sweat beads form under his bangs as Ringo's relaxed face remained close to him. He finished the foundation up quickly enough, letting out a quiet sigh as he leaned back. This was all so nerve wracking! He quickly picked up the small mirror, holding it up to Ringo while retaining his cool composure. "Look good to you? ★"

Ringo opened her eyes, then took the mirror out of the boys hands, holding it up to her face. She smiled in satisfactory. "Looks good to me!"

"Perfect, ★" Maguro remarked. He looked around. "Hm, what's next? ★"

"Maybe..." Ringo trailed, eyes darting around the floor. "This highlighter stuff? For my cheeks," Ringo said, picking up a palette and doing her best to sound confident in a field she wasn't really sure of. It was enough to make Maguro smile warmly; he always admired her idol-laced passion.

"Sounds familiar. Let's try it out! ★"

Ringo gave Maguro the palette, then leaned in again, closing her eyes. Maguro opened the thin box and picked up the makeup brush closest to him. He took a deep breath before leaning in as well, lips tightening as he could see every detail of the girls face.

He attempted to connect the brush to her cheekbones, though, he couldn't get an even angle at his distance. His face getting hot, he leaned in even closer, slightly leaning against Ringo's shoulder as he patted the brush against Ringo's cheek, attempting to do as best he could with the little knowledge he had.

"Hey, where did you get all this stuff, anyway? ★" Maguro chimed, attempting to ease his own thoughts about the situation.

Ringo's mouth didn't move much as she replied, attempting not to disturb her beautician. "My mom let me borrow some of it."

Maguro shifted awkwardly to her other cheek. "I can't believe I'm doing this... ★" he ended up saying, his thoughts accidentally coming alive.

"You don't have to, you know," Ringo replied, pulling away slightly.

Maguro jumped at the answer, realizing what he had just said out loud. He put his hand on the shoulder adjacent to Ringo's cheek, pulling her close again so he could finish his work. "No way! I mean, of course I'll do it! What are friends for, y'know? ★" He grinned, not even noticing how close he had pulled her in until her could see her heartwarming smile form so close to him.

And truly, of course he would do it; no matter how embarrassing it was to be so leaned into the girl and no matter how flustered the very idea of this made him. Pushing the feelings aside, he would do anything to help his best friend's dream, as she would do the same for him.

Eventually, he had finished both sides, Ringo complimenting his work ("See? Told you you knew how.").

Eyebrows and a faintly pink eyeshadow later (they skipped mascara; Maguro insisted that he would never forgive himself if he poked Ringo's eye out), the look was nearly done. Maguro caught himself staring every now and then; it wasn't a bold look by any means, but it was something that he had never seen on the girl before. Matched with him looking down at the dress, it was a bundle of emotions waiting to happen. Emotions that had been no big deal to pay no mind too usually, but lately....

"What now?" Ringo muttered to herself, looking through the pile. Her eyes seemed to light up at something, and before Maguro could catch a glimpse of it, she was already pushing it into his hands, the skirt of her dress ruffling around her.

"Lipstick? ★" Maguro said, looking down at the tube now in his hands. It was a pale red color. He nervously chuckled, a bit shocked for two reasons. Reason number one: "That's pretty bold, no? ★"

Reason number two: there was no way in puyo hell Ringo wanted _him_ to put that on _her_. No, surely not, he would have to put that on her lips! Surely that was way too touchy for her, way too close, way too...

_Ugh, would you relax already?! Stop thinking about weird stuff...._

"You may be right," Ringo hummed at his prior statement, taking the tube back from him and twirling it between her fingers. She looked around in the pile again, then set down the lipstick in exchange for another tube. "What about this?" She asked, holding it out in front of her.

It nearly looked identical; just with a lighter shade of red, pretty much pink, coloring and a longer size. Though, printed in large letters read, 'Lipgloss.'

To be completely honest with himself, Maguro didn't remember the difference all that much, but he was fairly sure that lipgloss was at least shinier than lipstick. "Uh, sure, I'm sure that'll look good! ★" He said, attempting to sound as proud of his answer as he could while simultaneously trying to mask his nerves.

Ringo grinned, handing him the tube. Before Maguro could even begin to look at the tube, Ringo was already pursing her lips, eyes closed.

Maguro jumped back a bit, hand over his mouth to cover the odd noise that had just come out of him. If his face hadn't been bright red before, it certainly was now. He turned away from Ringo's face, lips wavering as he undid the cap on the lipgloss. Out came a glittery wand with a translucent pink cream on the end of it.

Maguro took a deep breath, and attempted to face the girl. The sight of her delicate face and soft lips nearly immediately made him look away again.

_Maguro! Get a grip, this is no big deal. Keep it cool, quit acting like a baby, stop embarrassing yourself and just-_

"Maguro?" Ringo softly asked, eyes still closed and eyebrows furrowed.

"I-I got it, I got it, ★" Maguro embarrassingly stuttered, mentally cursing himself.

There was no way he could stall any longer. As much braveness as he could muster in his fluttering heart, Maguro nervously put his free hand on Ringo's cheek to steady his painting, tilting her head up a bit to get a better view of his flustering canvas.

"This okay? ★" He instinctively asked, trying to keep his voice as nonchalant as possible.

"Mhm," was the only response he got, no hesitation in Ringo's voice.

Maguro leaned into her more, his eyes just barely open so he could see where he was waving the wand, but not be reminded of how close the whole ordeal was. Eventually, the cool cream made contact with Ringo's bottom lip, the wand gliding over it.

The shiny cream casted a sparkly, pink glow onto Ringo's bottom lip, reflecting the light from above them.

When Maguro felt that he had applied a thick enough coating he reeled back, quickly putting the wand back into the tube and placing a hand on his chest, feeling his loud heartbeat start to grow shy.

Ringo too pulled away, tightening her lips so the lipgloss could spread to her top lip. She picked up the mirror and looked into it as she did so. When she stopped, she tilted her head from side to side, a smile gracing her now faintly pink and shiny lips.

"So? ★" Maguro asked, cocking his head to one side. He couldn't help but smile along with her as his nerves calmed.

"Perfect! Whaddya think?" She asked, turning to Maguro so he could get a better look.

It was unlike anything he had really seen on her before, but Maguro couldn't deny that she looked nearly angelic with the combination of her now pink lips and alluring dress. "I think you look great, Ringo! ★" Was all he could say.

The girl's smile seemed to get even wider, standing up with the mirror to get a better look at herself. Maguro stood up as well, taking a seat on the edge of Ringo's bed.

Ringo swayed around a little, Maguro watching the dress conform to her movements as her face shone with a brilliance he had never seen before. He shook his head a bit, placing his arms behind him in the bed. "So, gonna sing for me today? ★" He asked slyly.

Ringo stopped in her tracks, her mouth forming a small 'o'. She smiled a bit sheepishly. "Well, I guess I could..." She trailed off, her voice somewhat small.

"Come on, no need to be shy! Just sing the song you always sing! ★"

"I'm not shy one bit!" Ringo suddenly exclaimed, the smile on her face turning into one filled with confidence. She turned to go into her closet, ruffling through some heavy things at the bottom before pulling out a portable boom box, a wireless microphone, and a CD. "Let's do it outside, yeah?"

Maguro bounced up from off the bed, stretching his arms to the ceiling. "You're the boss, ★" he replied, placing his hands on his hips.

Ringo, firstly grabbing a pair of boots by the door, practically zoomed out of the room in an instant, leaving Maguro, again, to catch up to her with haste.

Maguro followed Ringo through the kitchen and to the glass back door of the house, catching a glimpse of the mesh of bright green and a dimming blue before opening the door to go to her.

Ringo was already hopping up onto a small wooden platform in the middle of the grass, a makeshift stage that her dad had put out for her. Maguro followed her, his shoes stepping onto the grass. He carelessly plopped down, watching Ringo put the CD into her boom box as the sun graciously made her shine.

She turned to Maguro. "I'm kinda nervous," she uncharacteristically said.

Maguro blinked at her. "Why's that? It's just like all those other times you've sang for me, remember? ★"

Maguro definitely remembered. Within this passion, Ringo wasn't too keen on sharing it with everyone; but she would always go to Maguro about it first. Whenever she learned a new song, hit a new note, Maguro was always to first to see. He loved every second of Ringo's small performances, he loved the way she sang, how confident she always was-

"It just kinda feels so...real, y'know? Like it's the real thing...the dress and the makeup...."

Maguro hummed, brought out of his thoughts. "Well, are ya just gonna let pre-show jitters get to you? Just sing like you always have, don't worry about it, ★" he said, attempting to ease her small bout of nerves.

Ringo nodded back at him, him hearing a whispered "okay" in response.

Her microphone in hand, Ringo pressed play on the box, quickly bouncing into the middle of the stage. She took a deep breath as the microphone flicked on, the box playing a familiar tune that her and Maguro knew all too well; it was Ringo's favorite song to sing out of the many she knew.

Soon enough, the vocals kicked in, and Ringo was right on beat, as usual. Her face radiated a contagious and happy energy as she sang into her microphone, only slight hitches in her breath as she hopped around on stage.

Maguro's grin almost matched the singer's as he was sucked into a trance, watching Ringo delve into her most passionate and vulnerable state right in front of him. The passionate state that he had remembered applauding enthusiastically for in the field after school.

Maybe Ringo had been right; this _did_ feel real. It could be the intimacy of the setting, the dress, the makeup. But this performance, compared to the others, felt real.

Or, maybe real wasn't the word, Maguro thought. It just felt different somehow, some way.

Increasingly, each performance had felt more powerful each time, Maguro's heart rate and excitement only growing faster and bigger. He always had a wide smile on his face, relishing in his best friend doing what she loved most.

Not only did he have a familiar grin on his face this time, but behind his bangs hid a longing stare, hypnotized by the girl. The way she moved, the way her curls bounced every time she would step, the way she sang, the sound of her voice, the inflection of each word, the way her eyes squeezed tight when she hit a high note, the way her gaze was enough to send butterflies down his throat and to his stomach....

And suddenly, please, forgive him, he could barely hear her singing anymore.

The rhythm of the song and Ringo's vocals became a mixed mesh of inaudible sound, muffled beyond Maguro's swarming thoughts.

Everything else was too loud; his heartbeat, his thoughts. He could feel his smile start to weaken, weaken with a mesmerized state as he continued to watch as Ringo's mouth move ecstatically with nothing but silence coming out.

The monotonous beat started to make his ears ring, his chest feel like it would burst at any second if he continued to stare.

_Maguro...why can't you just deal with this already?_

"That was perfect~!"

As if the wind had got kicked into him, Maguro gasped into reality at Ringo's final words of the song. He was brought back just in time to see Ringo whip her head towards him, a wide smile on her face.

Maguro matched the look, quickly springing up from the grass while attempting to clear his head. "Ringo! That was...that was insane! You sounded amazing! ★" He exclaimed, throwing his hands out in front of him.

Ringo placed the microphone down and softly squeaked as she jumped off the stage, her dress floating around her like a saucer for a moment in time. She clenched both of her fists, leaning forward. "You really mean it!?"

"Would I ever lie to you? ★" Maguro said, a bit in disbelief at the fact that Ringo could doubt the performance at all.

Ringo laughed, then grabbed onto the edges of her dress. "That felt so cool! It was like I was on a real stage and everything! Did it feel that way to you, too?"

Maguro thought about it for just a second, not wanting anymore thoughts to embarrassingly make their way to his mouth. "It felt like I was watching Superstar Idol Ringo Andou! ★" He said dreamily, putting his hands out in front of him to paint the picture.

A few seconds of elation passed before Ringo giggled to herself before running forward, extending her arms out before plummeting into Maguro's own arms, squeezing tight as she nestled herself into the crook of his neck. "Thank you so much, Maguro."

Maguro's graciously given air had been knocked back out of him, leaving him dazed. He quickly tried to stutter out a response. "Huh? B-but I didn't-"

"No," Ringo started, her words slightly muffled as Maguro felt her smile against him, "you've been here for all of it. Every time I want to do this, you're always here. You've always been. You even helped me with the makeup thing this time...thank you, Maguro."

Maguro stared ahead of him. With his face briefly turning the same shade of the curls that were now tickling his neck, he softly smiled to himself, to his best friend. He quickly deepened the embrace, his chest warm with swelling feelings.

"Any time, Ringo. ★"


End file.
